Marcel Perez

Marcel Perez, born Marcel Fernández Pérez (January 29, 1884 – February 8, 1929), was an internationally celebrated Spanish-born creator and star of over 200 silent comedy short subjects. He directed himself in nearly two-thirds of these films, acting, on two continents under such names as Marcel Fabre,[1] Michel Fabre, Fernandea Perez, Manuel Fernández Pérez, Robinet, Tweedy, Tweedledum, and Twede-Dan.

Marcel Perez
Tweedy in Takes A Tip (1922)
Born
Marcel Fernández Pérez

(1884-01-29)January 29, 1884
Madrid, Spain
DiedFebruary 8, 1929(1929-02-08) (aged 45)
Los Angeles, US
Occupation
  • Actor
  • Writer
  • Silent film director
Spouse(s)Dorothy Earle (1892–1958)
Children1

Biography

Born in Madrid, Perez began his professional career by working as a circus clown in Paris.[2] His film career started with comedy films of the production companies Pathé Frères and Éclair. In 1910 Arturo Ambrosio signed him for his production company, Ambrosio Films. Perez directed several comedies while working for the production company.[3]

He had directed and acted in the sci-fi film Le avventure straordinarissime di Saturnino Farandola, a series of 18 episodes[4][5] released on the eve of first World War and based on a science fiction novel by Albert Robida.[6] He had played the character of Saturnino Farandola in the film which explored the idea of a voyage around the world.[7] Perez had directed and played the character of Robinet in over 150 films produced by Ambrosio films[8][9] and was thus popularly called Robinet in Italy.[10] He had directed the 1914 melodrama film Amor Pedestre (translation Pedestrian Love), which did not show any body part of the lead actor or actress except their feet.[11][12]

During the First World War, Perez left Italy and went to the United States. In America, he was popularly called Tweedle-Dum, Twede-Dan and Tweedy, but among his earliest American movies were a series of four Bungles comedies: Bungles' Rainy Day, Bungles Enforces the Law, Bungles' Elopement and Bungles Lands a Job. The Bungles shorts co-starred Oliver Hardy and were produced by Jacksonville's Vim Comedy Company.[13] Perez began his decade-long occasional collaborations with William A. Seiter on the 1918 military comedy film The Recruit.[1]

Concurrent with his early-1920s short subject work, Perez directed Rubye De Remer in three features; what might have become a more extensive teaming was ended, in part, by her early retirement. Following a cancer-related leg amputation in 1923, his film work was confined almost exclusively to writing and directing, most notably the Alyce Ardell comedies for producer Joe Rock.[14] By early 1924, Perez was reportedly earning $400 weekly as a Jimmy Aubrey gagman.[15]

Personal life

He was married to the actress Dorothy Earle (1892-1958).[1]

Preservation of films

Ten surviving Perez titles held by the EYE Film Institute Netherlands and the Library of Congress[16] were restored and released on DVD on January 26, 2015,[17] with another 8 films released in February 2018 on The Marcel Pérez Collection, Volume Two.[18] [19] Material from fifteen other Pérez “Robinet” short subjects was posted online by the EYE Film Institute Netherlands in the closing months of 2019.

Filmography

Including

  • The Short-Sighted Cyclist (1907, actor)
  • Gigetta si vendica di Robinet (1910, director and actor)
  • Robinet vuol fare il jockey (1910, director and actor)
  • Robinet aviatore/Tweedledum, Aviator (1911, director and actor)
  • Robinet troppo amato da sua moglie (Robinet Is Too Much Loved by His Wife) (1912, Italy, director and actor)
  • Madamigella Robinet (Miss Tweedledum) (1912, Italy, director and actor)
  • Le avventure straordinarissime di Saturnino Farandola/The Extraordinary Adventures of Saturnino Farandola (1913, director and actor)
  • Amore Pedestre/Pedestrian Love (1914, director and actor)
  • Bungles series (1916, director and actor): Bungles' Rainy Day; Bungles Enforces the Law; Bungles' Elopement; Bungles Lands a Job
  • The Recruit (1918, director and actor)
  • You're Next (1919, director and actor)
  • Can You Beat It? (1919, USA, director and actor)
  • The Way Women Love (1920, director)
  • Week End (1921, director and actor)
  • Sweet Daddy (1921, director and actor)
  • Luxury (1921, director)
  • Unconquered Woman (1922, director)
  • Peaceful Riot (1925, director)
  • Vulgar Yachtsmen (1926, director)
  • Lash of the Law (1926, director and actor)
  • When East Meets West (1926, director and actor)
  • His In-Laws (1928, director)

References
  1. Hal Erickson (2012). Military Comedy Films: A Critical Survey and Filmography of Hollywood Releases Since 1918. McFarland. p. 17. ISBN 978-0-7864-6290-2.
  2. Richard Abel (2005). Encyclopedia of Early Cinema. Taylor & Francis. p. 225. ISBN 978-0-415-23440-5.
  3. Georges Sadoul (1972). Dictionary of Film Makers. University of California Press. p. 6. ISBN 978-0-520-02151-8.
  4. Mark Dorrian; Frederic Pousin (2013). Seeing From Above: The Aerial View in Visual Culture. I.B.Tauris. p. 120. ISBN 978-1-78076-461-0.
  5. "Marcel Fabre". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  6. Martin Lefebvre (2006). Landscape and Film. Taylor & Francis. p. 295. ISBN 978-0-415-97555-1.
  7. Matthew Solomon (2011). Fantastic Voyages of the Cinematic Imagination: Georges Méliès's Trip to the Moon. SUNY Press. pp. 193–194. ISBN 978-1-4384-3582-4.
  8. Gino Moliterno (2008). Historical Dictionary of Italian Cinema. Scarecrow Press. p. 7. ISBN 978-0-8108-6254-8.
  9. Luigi Malerba; Herman G. Weinberg (1955). Fifty years of Italian cinema. C. Bestetti. p. .
  10. Gian Piero Brunetta (2009). The History of Italian Cinema: A Guide to Italian Film from Its Origins to the Twenty-first Century. Princeton University Press. pp. 40–41. ISBN 0-691-11988-0.
  11. Michael O'Pray (2013). Avant-Garde Film: Forms, Themes, and Passions. Columbia University Press. p. 24. ISBN 978-0-231-85000-1.
  12. Timothy Stroud; Emanuela Di Lallo (2006). Art of the Twentieth Century: 1900–1919, the avant-garde movements. Skira. p. . ISBN 978-88-7624-604-3.
  13. Mark Potts; Dave Shephard (2007). What Was The Film When? The Movies of Laurel and Hardy. Lulu.com. p. 206. ISBN 978-0-9555318-3-5.
  14. Massa, pp. 109–133.
  15. Willis, pp. 28, 29, 92, 99.
  16. "The Marcel Perez collection – silent film DVD by Ben Model—Kickstarter". Kickstarter.com. 2014-06-25. Retrieved 2014-06-30.
  17. "The Marcel Perez Collection". Amazon.com. 2015-01-26. Retrieved 2014-02-14.
  18. "The Marcel Perez Collection: volume 2". Kickstarter.com. 2017-05-30. Retrieved 2017-08-24.
  19. "MOMA Marcel Perez program". 2018-11-25.

Sources
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